To date, this St. Bonaventure season has seen some exhilarating wins and head scratching losses. File the one Wednesday at Charles E. Smith Center under the latter. The host George Washington Revolutionaries posted an 86-75 Senior Night win over the Bonnies. The win snapped a 12 game losing streak, while improving George Washington to 15-15 (4-13) as the Bonnies dropped to 18-11 (9-8).
Possessions: 65
Offensive efficiency: GW 132, St. Bona 115
As noted before, a 115 will get you a lot of wins but not when you surrender a 132 on the defensive end.
Four Factors:
| St. Bona | GW | |
| eFG Pct. | 58 | 75 |
| FT Rate | 21 | 50 |
| OREB Pct. | 14 | 25 |
| TO Rate | 11 | 22 |
| 2pt FG% | 50 | 71 |
| 3pt FG% | 46 | 52 |
| FT % | 83 | 74 |
| 3pt FGA/FGA | 43 | 63 |
Ball Control Index:
St. Bona 2.57
GW 1.79
Recap. The game started with both teams shooting a high percentage from the floor. It was back and forth until the final seconds of the half when Bona hit four free throws, thanks to a foul and technical, to open an eight point lead. GW answered with a Trey Autry three at the buzzer to cut the lead to five and give Chris Caputio’s group some momentum heading into the break.
GW used that momentum to go on a 14-4 run in the opening minutes of the final stanza, taking a 48-46 lead. Bona answered with five straight to regain the lead. Holding a 61-60 lead with just over eight minutes to play the hosts went on a 10-0 run to build a double digit advantage. The Bonnies never recovered.
How it happened. Just checking the numbers gives a good indication. GW shot 59% for the game, including 52% (15 of 29) from beyond the arc. The Bonnies simply had a tough time defending the perimeter by not closing out effectively enough on the outside shooters.
Rebounding was a problem once again. GW won the battle of the boards by a 31-22 count. On the night Bona managed just four offensive rebounds.
A bright spot for the Bonnies was committing only seven turnovers. GW had 14 for a high turnover rate of 22%. As the coaching axiom says ‘shooting makes up for a multitude of sins’.
“They (GW) are talented,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said. “ They are a lot like La Salle in that they space you out, dibble drive and drive and kick. We just did not keep the ball in front of us. In this league you give guys a little room and they will make their shots.”
Chad Venning, limited to six points, and Noel Brown both battled foul trouble. In Schmidt’s estimation that was not the deciding factor. “Our fives getting in foul trouble was not the reason (for the loss). We just did not keep the ball in front of us on defense.”
Kenpom.com MVP: James Bishop IV. The Revolutionaries’ outstanding senior, in his final home game, scored a game-high 27 points. Bishop was five of nine from three while adding six assists.
Daryl Banks III led the Bonnies with 23 points. Moses Flowers scored 15 while Assa Essamvous had 11 and Mika Adams-Woods 10.
GW had three others beside Bishop hitting for double digits. Maximus Edwards scored 19, Darren Buchanan 14 and Jacoi Hutchinson 13.
Notes: Edwards led all in the rebounding department with seven. Essamvous was the Bonnie’s leader with six.
GW buried 15 three pointers, the most of any Bonnie opponent this year. Bonnies entered the game allowing the opposition 32% shooting from three.
This was just the third time the Bonnies allowed over 80 points to an A10 opponent since 2020-21.
Bonnies enter the final game, hosting Saint Louis Saturday on Senior Day, with the seeding in the A10 Tournament still uncertain. UMass won a close contest over Fordham, also on Wednesday, meaning the Bonnies could be seeded high as sixth or as low as ninth.
Saint Louis comes to Reilly Center with a 11-19 record, 4-13 in A10 play. The most recent outing for Travis Ford’s Billikens was a 100-83 loss at home to Dayton on Tuesday. The Billikens are fifth in conference efficiency at 109. On the flip side, they are at the bottom in defensive efficiency with a 119 per game mark.
“We got to go to Senior Day, and hopefully we play well” – Mark Schmidt
